13/52

1. My Sprocket, concentrating in the garden. He's opening up a bandaid to play Doctors with Poppet.  I'm still working on how to get the settings right with the camera...

2. My Poppet. 'This is like pink-sugar!' as she drinks her pink milk. Enter mummy-guilt... Anything pink is good in my Poppet's books - pink-sugar-drinks are the best of the best! She's still a little pale as we've all been sick this week. The kids now seem much better but my Beloved and I are mournful Easter is passing in fevers and chills. We have stuff to do and places to go... or maybe just wrap up in quilts and watch the kids on the trampoline...

Joining with the wonderful Jodi at Che and Fidel for a portrait of the kids once a week for 2013.

Every Night

Every night, in the golden glow of a room enclosed in night, just before lights out, my Poppet and I curl up together, face to face.
Every night when teeth are brushed, curls are still damp from her bath, jammies are on and stories are read, my Poppet delays sleep for five minutes more.
Every night my Poppet reaches over and slings an arm around my neck.
Every night my Poppet whispers, "Goodnight, Mummy, sleep well."
Every night I reply, "Goodnight, darling."
Every night my Poppet whispers,"Sweet dreams, Mummy." And every night her face is alight with joy and soft spoken secrets.
Every night my Poppet says "I love you, too, Mummy."  She always says "I love you, too," not just "I love you."
And every night I tell her, "I love you so so much, my Poppet. I'm so happy you're you."
Every night she takes my face in both her hands and gently pats my cheek with one hand. Every night she will whisper again, "Goodnight, Mummy, sweet dreams."
And every night I tell her, "Time for sleep, my little one. Eyes closed now."
Every night she whispers, "Alright, Mummy."
And every night she rolls onto her back, closes her eyes and begins fake-snoring. Fake snoring so loudly and enthusiastically you can hear her in the next room.
And every night I hope she isn't copying me.
And every night I think how lucky I am, that every single night my little girl takes my face in her hands and tells me that she loves me. 

Tea With Me

Come, sit down, I've got the kettle on. Make your choice, peppermint, earl grey, hot-chocolate, a coffee? Sugar, milk?

The candles are lit, and if you come on one of the cooler days this week I'll light the fire.
Do come over, I'll bribe you with cake. Store brought, as the kids have been sick and I don't want to risk infection, but the fruit and veg shop do a great sponge.
Settle in, watch the flames. My Sprocket's taking his robots on a grand adventure and my Poppet's putting her dolls to bed.

Easter is one of my very favourite times of year. I love this time to reflect, to remember, to come together as a family. I love the weather - so often there are clear blue skies and a briskness in the air and the deciduous leaves are turning. I always remember my Grandfather at Easter. So often we'd be down at the beach with him and he would take the service at one of the nearby churches and his whole being would beam as he talked about grace. I'm looking forward to cooking hot cross buns with the kids and cooking a big Sunday dinner. The kids have already given the Easter bunny detailed instructions.
What are your Easter plans?

My Poppet had her first cup of tea this week.
Well, really, hot water and milk, but we called it tea. I used the tea set my prep teacher gave me so many aeons ago and it felt  ... momentous. I come from a tea culture. Growing up the kettle was nearly always on or we had a cup of tea in our hands, or both and it's lovely to see my daughter becoming part of it. Already she knows that tea makes (most) things better and Mummy-Needs-Tea. She often brings me 'pretend' tea cups.

And it made me think back to my first cup of 'tea.' I can't recall the very first cup, but it would have been at my Great Aunts', Eve and Margs, house. Most Sunday's we would catch the rattling green tram out of the city (and later when we moved we would walk the forty minutes) and have Sunday Lunch at my Great Aunts'. Come mid-afternoon I would be sat at the little table in the wood-panelled living room and the tea trolley would be wheeled in. There would be cheese biscuits and lemon slices and 'tea' served in a thick earthenware mug, and I would feel so grown up and important. After tea I would look at the curios collected from all around the world in their curio cabinet, or would be allowed to carefully leaf through their first edition of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite's Elves and Fairies, which was pure magic. And then there was their garden...

My Beloved, the med-student, has started his 'Women's Health' Rotation at the hospital. In the next six weeks he has to 'catch' three babies. I am a little jealous. I love the promise and excitement of birth. Each week we watch The Midwives and One Born Every minute and we pretend it's for my Beloved's studies, but really, it's just for me to ooh over the babies and sticky-beak! But ... this is also our first experience of 'almost-real' doctor hours. My Beloved starts at the hospital at seven in the morning and finishes about seven at night. He's rostered on nights and weekends as well ... including this one ... Easter. And while I know many families do this all the time, for us, it's a first and I'm not entirely sure how we'll go. My Poppet started My Beloved's rotation yesterday by waking up and promptly throwing up. Luckily, she stopped after a few hours, but her poor little pale face and big eyes as her body did this to her, was haunting.

Next week (on April Fools day, talk about auspicious starting date!) I start Camp Nano - which is when (like last November) I'm going to attempt to write 50,000 words in a month. This month is going to be more logistically challenging than last November, seeing as my Beloved is going to be MIA for most of the time, so I foresee much coffee and midnight writing sessions. But I'm so looking forward to it. I'll be starting my novel Overly Caffeinated Werewolves (Are Not Pretty) and just thinking about it makes me want to do a happy dance. With Camp Nano, I've been asssigned an (online) cabin of other writers and we'll all egg each other on around the (online) campfire. Most of my six cabinmates are teenagers, but there is one other person my age so I don't feel too much of a doddering misfit!
What are you excited about this week?

Joining with the lovely Em at teacups too for 'tea with me'. 

Weekly Stills

 1. Coffee Candles. Last week while washing the dishes the kitchen was suddenly full of the heady smell of coffee. Some detective work showed me my Sprocket had got into the coffee and made an aromatic mountain on the kitchen floor. I decided the time had come to finally put a pinterest idea into play and voila coffee candles! They smelt divine!

2. My Poppet adores a cartoon called Peppa Pig and on the hotter nights last week she begged for 'muddy puddles' to jump in while I watered my poor, dried out garden. It's nice to be able to bring so much joy so easily!

3 & 4. See above! Lots of fun in muddy puddles!

5. A promise Autumn is truly on the way. Raindrops on oak leaves!

6. My Poppet running on the beach.

7. My Sprocket with a smoothed stone.

8. My Poppet rugged up for Autumn!



Joining with the wonderful Em at The Beetleshack for Weekly Stills. 

12/52

1. My Sprocket with the Daddy-Monster in the midst of a tickle-fest.
2. My Poppet, dancing. Ole! You can see there is now a very pleasing briskness in the air!

Joining with Jodi at Che and Fidel for a portrait of my children once a week in 2013.